I’ve Got Life

I ain’t got no home, ain’t got no shoesAin’t got no money, ain’t got no classAin’t got no friends, ain’t got no schoolingAin’t got no hurt, ain’t got no jobAin’t got no money, no place to stayAin’t got no

Programmed inequity, it’s in the nervous systemListen, watch the words, how they twist ’emTwo thirds of the world turned victimSubtle energy, they capture and block chiThe unseen violence behind the democracySome call it hypocrisy, turn freeman into propertyAnd logically justify not treatin’ ’em properlyInvisible ink in the constitutionMeant to preserve the institution, unequal distributionOf wealth, goods and servicesRevolvin’ door, no floor, just anxiety and nervousnessTrapped in circusesHerds of us, not understandin’ our purposesWhen appetites and psychological typesGet caught in the hype, it’s tight from morning ’til nightI’m demanding my rightsWomen’s suffrage then black suffrageOr Jim Crow, the KKKAmerican terrorismMurders and beatings on televisionIt’s in the cells now, you thought that was yesterday?But the compression stays, trauma still got most afraidStuck in the memory, fear gives birth to lethargyGenerations of children in jeopardyHistory written in jealousy, scribes full of heresyFull of barbarians, ch-ch-check out my melodyMusical therapy, reprogramAfrica full of coltanColtrane was a cold manBlack genius in a cold land tryna be the whole manHeal the homelandPast time for our own landWhere a grown man can be a grown manThe system has benefit for robbery is robberyYou can’t run from it, God is a natural monopolyDivine creator stuck in monotonyBureaucracy, psyche on povertySelf-esteem broken like potteryNo more, not me, codename anomalyCause there’s just no match for the prodigySovereignty, the god in meWalking university, living cosmologyWithout apology

Why this song?

Beautiful song about struggle–especially that involving racial justice–and finding the “life” to keep going.- Michael

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This playlist is a collaborative effort, so your input is not only welcome but vital! Please share a song with us. We're looking for:

music that reminds us what we’re struggling for;

music that reminds us of why it’s worth the struggle;

music that strengthens us when we need to be brave; that lifts up up when we’re feeling lost or helpless; that reminds us of our own power; that connects us through our common humanity;